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AN ORATION^i 

DELIVERED AT THE 

ha^jtist Meetlng-House in COLEBROOK, fCoitJ 

On the National TlianJs.sgiving. 



^ — 

BY HENRY BLISS. 



"5 The vame of Amehjcan^ ivhich belongs to you in your national 
Capacity i must always exalt the juat firide oj" /latriotism." 

Washington, 
published at the request of the hearers. ' 



FELLO W- CITiZEJVS, 

lY the Proclamation of the President qf the United 
States, we are this day called to mingle our heartfelt emo- 
tions of {gratitude and praise to the Almighty disposer of 
events, for tlie glorious and honorable termination of the 
war, and the auspicious return of peace to our beloved 
country,, On this occasionj while we recognize the arm 
of Jehovah, whicii in the eves of all the nations has again 
been made bare in our behalf ; while we bov/ with grate- 
ful reverence in the temple of America's God, to join m 
the national chorus of joy and indulge the pride of Amer- 
ican feeling, I trust will not be counted criminal. 

The love of oui- country is a principle so strongly 
mingled with the aflccticns of the human heart, that it be- 
comes a matter of extreme difficulty for men to eradicate 
Us inborn impressions ; it may, for a while, be smother- 
ed by the hand of de^poviim, or be made to mi'3tal;e its 



f: 



object by the intriguing- arts of faction, but the sacred 
flame can never be extinguished ; it is the gift of God j 
the immortal fire kindled by the hand of an indulgent Cre- 
ator, to become an active principle in the m_ore private 
walks of life, or to glow in the national counsels, and blaze 
out in glorious deeds in the crimson fields of war, for the 
preservation of those rights and liberties so dear to man. 

It is this which has inspired the Orato-'s eloquence, 
the Statesman's study, and the Poet's song throughout all 
5iges ! it is this which, independent of the v/ish for the 
l^onors or emoluments of offices and distinctions, ought 
to actuate every virtuous and noble mind ; for to feel cur 
country's wrojigs^, to mourn over >ts calamities, and to re- 
joice in its prosperity and happiness, are duties enjoined 
upon us b}^ the common claims of society, as well as by 
tHie more interested feelings of our nature. And if ever 
there was a time since the establishment of our national 
ejtistence, when the friends of their country had real' 
Cause to rejoice, that time is now. 

But befoi'e I proceed to that part of rny subject, Icf 
mt turn back your attention, for a few moments, to years 
and seasons past, when the protecting care of Heaven ov- 
er our favored land was, as it has been now, in various 
instances, so visibly manifested. 

In the more unenlightened ages, when it was ♦■leem-' 
cd criminal for men to worship the Deity contrar) io the 
laws of the state, our forefathers had been cruelly treated 
at home for the rights of conscience, and had left their 
country for a refuge and an asylum in the lonely wilds of 
North-America— ^they were the children in the woods, fed 
by the indulgent hand of Heaven,- and protected from 
danger and death, which menaced them in various- forms ; 
from perils on the ocean and on the hud -^ from famine and 
from the rage of wild beasts and the murderous vengeance 
of more ferocious men. But they flourished, they mul- 
tiplied, and their desccrrtlants soon spread over extensive 
GoiOhies, v.JK?re their industry and enterprize smoothed 
the roui;h and rniiG:cd scenes of nature, and made " the 
■wilder; ':ss to rejoice and to blossom like the rose." — • 
'J'luis, batinj; the delirium of their superstitious notions 
and li'.e transient w;.Id-firc of their bi"otrv, thcv made 
rap]d improvements, and were u virtuous ar/J happy pco 



pic until the galling oppressions of their exactors and task, 
masters from England compelled them at last to recognize 
their in-born rights, and to rouse into action the waking 
■energies of an injured and insulted nation. Almost des- 
titute of every requisite for defence against the powerful 
fleets and armies of Great-Britain, and opposed by inter- 
nal enemies, no doubt many in this respectable assembly 
well remember the distressing scenes, the clouds of fear- 
ful darkness which so often overspread the land during 
that arduous struggle for Liberty and Independence. But 
you did not despair ; you felt that your all was at stake ; 
y^a felt tkat you had a country ! even when you were 
without a Government and without Laws. Your country 
called ; its mandate was sacred ; you rallied to its stand- 
ard ; you fought with various success ; for years you toil- 
ed tiirough scenes of peril and through fields of blood, 
while the dubious scale of war hung trembling with the 
fate of unborn millions ! — But you finally conquered ; 
you compelled the governmerit of Great-Britain to ac- 
knowledge your Independence ; you beheld the giant 
humbled at the feet of the stripling ! you established a 
national government and a national character, and while 
you received the plaudits of an admiring world, 50U heard 
it proclaimed aloud throughout the land, and you no doubt 
felt the truth of that important declaration, that the God 
of Armies was on your side ! that with a strong arm and 
a mighty hand He had enabled you to overcome your ene- 
mies ; that He had conducted America through the dubi- 
ous conflict, and given her a name and a high rank amon^ 
the nations of the earth. 

Nor less was die Divine indulgence manifested to 
us as a nation, when for a long season of uninterrupted 
prosperity, and for more than thirty years of peace, a peace 
scarce broken by the trumpet's sound, or disturbed by the 
meteor flashes of war, while Europe was shaken to its 
centre by perpetual contests and commotions, and the two 
rival powers were seeking to embroil us in their conflicts ; 
under the guardian care of Heaven we made a rapid prog- 
ress in agricultural improvements, in the arts and in man- 
ufactures — the sciences were cultivated — we increased in 
wealth-^our trade flourished, our sails were on every sei^, 
land our flag fluttered in every commercial port. But here 
i am reluctantly compelled to point you to the darker 
shades of the picture I — We had grown too proud and too, 



4 

2iiuch attached to the luxurious habits and fashions of Eu- 
ropeans — we had too far departed from that dignified plain- 
ness of KepubUcans, and in the pride for distinction and 
the scramble for office, too many had departed from the 
faith in our Republican institutions — as a nation our pride 
and avarice had grown with our prosperity — we had run 
into the follies of foreigners, and. had adopted, too. many 
of their vices, and we deserved punishment. 

England, whose vast maritime strength h^d in- 
creased her arrogance, by an avaricious lust of wealth un- 
restricted by the laws of nations or of national honor, liad 
long been seeking to mdnopoHze the trade of the world i 
she watched with a jealous eye our flourishing commerce • 
she remembered the days of her humbled pride, and she' 
jnarked us for her prey !— France, too, had done us es- 
sential injury ; but England had not only captured and 
condemned our ships and cargoes, but she had wantonly 
imnressed, and was still impressing thousands of our na- 
tive seamen. In vain we remonstrated ; in vain we sought 
redress by negociation, by the most mild and pacific poli= 
cy. The just complaints of paper blockades, British or- 
4trs and French decrees, were loud and increasing — our 
national character was suffering- — our wrongs were multi« 
plying. On the part of Britain, impressment, outrage 
and plunder were fast growing into an established system. 
With a patience unexampled, and an unabatmg persever- 
ance to obtain justice and evade the threatening storm, 
"without any partiality, without any '' entangling aliiauce,'' 
*' without committing a single act it was unwilling the 
whole world should look on and be witness to," our gov- 
ernment struggled to rescue the drowning rights of the 
nation until every just and reasonable measure proved ab- 
prtive, until we had, indeed, been kicWd into a war. 

At that time, it is a humiliating reflection, but it is 
no less true, we had become, in the eyes of th^ Europe- 
an nations, an insulted and degraded people— -ue were 
looked upon as a nation of no spirit nor enterprize for ;my 
thirej but monev ! Thev were astonished at that forbear- 
since in our Government, which they mistook for pusilla- 
r.iniity. We were, in short, almost so far degenerated in 
th-:ir view, that in the language of the Prophet of old, 
tht Isutions were fain " to go asidx to ask how we did." 



If the hand of Napoleon was irj this War, if our 
Government were under French Influence in this business, 
I have never been so i'qrtunate as to iind any person v.'ho 
has seen it with his own eyes, or who could tell mc \\iiere 
it was to be seen — it is like die science of perpetual mo- 
tion, much talked of, but has never } et been discovered. 
It was certainly just and reasonable that our Government 
should single out the enemy wh.ich had do.ie us the great- 
est injury. At the commencement of the war, England, 
though deeply involved in the European contest, was here 
practising what she had long been before, her tyrant ails 
to divide and coiiqiier. — It is, indeed, what cannot be dis- 
puted, that she founded her most sanguine hopes of suc- 
cess on our disunion ; she had her spies in the bosom of 
our couiUry ; she found her v/armest advocates in New* 
England. But it is with extreme reluctance that I am 
compelled to lift the veil of political depravity ; it is in- 
deed a superfluous task« Faction ht;s now so fully un- 
masked its own projects, that it would be an insult oftercd 
to reason and common sense to recapitulate what its ov;ii 
extravagancip has so often and so publickly. exposed ; I 
shall, therefore, be as brief as possible on this subject ; 
neither shall I proceed to a tedioiiS narrative of the events 
pf the war, they are generally knouTi — on the land they 
were at firsi: disastrous and discouniging ; but on the O- 
cean, the successful operations of the war were unexrim- 
pled in the history of nations. But the great cliange in 
the affairs of Europe at length gave to England an over- 
whelming force of veteran troops, who were sent to re- 
duce us to " unconditional submission." Gorpcd u-itli 
power and inflated vrith ambition, she threatened every as- 
sailable town on our sea-beard with rtiin and devastation„ 
The downfall of the Bonapartean dynas'y was received by 
the opposition party, in many places in this country, v.iiii 
the same triumphant exultation as it was in England, and 
the jubilee that was celebrated on that occasion in some of 
our capitals, considering the v/ell kno^vn issue of the e- 
vent, was a novel circumstance in the history of r.ations — » 
it was a most singular stretch of the unnational feelings of- 
faction. When the v/ar was declared, it was n.o more^ 
than what v/as expected, that there would hir'e been rycYii^i, 
opposition agairist rt ; but that there were men born on. A- 
rrierican ground, and breathing the air ci F^i ctdom., who. 
could publickly rejoice in the disastrous events pf th?ir. 



country, and join the choral symphonies of old England, 
was what ciuirity forbade us to believe. 

I WOULD here observe, that I h:.te no man because 
he does not thiiil: with me; but under the complicated 
embarrassments of the nation, I know not which most to 
admire, the successful progress iuid honorable conclusion 
of thjE war, or the unexampled lenity and firmness of our 
jmvernment. It was at first predicted that the war would 
6e unpopular ; and I never heard of any prophets who la- 
bored so hard to fulfil their own predictions. With sedi- 
tion in the cal)inet and treason in the field — wih a pov/er- 
ful faction in this section of the country — a faction steady 
to its purpose — wrangling* with every measm^e of the Gov- 
ernment, be it what it would — uniform in inconsistency, 
and systematic only in opposition — threateninj^ a dismem- 
berment of the Union, and seeking to establish its own 
importance amidst the woes of Freedom and a nation's 
blood — with a combination of these New- England States 
to withhold their aid in meu and monev, and a most rldic- 
idous queering and quibbling to evade the mear.mg of the 
Constitution, at a time of the greatest j^eril, when ihe ex- 
igencies of tlie nation demanded the united efibrts of ail 
hearts and hands. With Vvhat kind of sounds were out 
ears then saluted ? Was it the voice of patriotism or the 
langnage o-f Americans, that resounded through our Eas- 
tern borders ? No ; it was the loud ravings of opposi- 
lion, the lugubrious moans of a wily faction. 

The War! the wicked War ! ruinous, unneccssa- 
ry and unjust, was responded from the pulpit and the 
press — fi om tlie halls of legislation to the country bar- 
room — -'pat; iotism was proscribed, and national feeling al- 
most extinguished — the social affections of the humar* 
heart seemed all gone over to the sic'.e of the enemy ; 
M'hiie the tcnderest sympathies were excited, not for the 
hoary headed parent nor the murdered son — not for the 
mourning moth • nor the bleeding infant, the guildess 
vicliras of Indiaii barbarity— not for these — but for the 
murderers themse'ves, the savage v.-ieldcrs of the toma- 
hawk and sca]j)ing-'.-nife ! reeking with the blood of our 
'western frierids — with the blood of Americans ! Thes(? 
^vere the characters for which even a Governor of one cjf 
these Eastern States expressed an uncommon symjoathy 
^nd regard I At that time, the President was abused— 



ihc army ridiculed, and the recruiting business obstructed 
and discouraged— the love of some seemed waxing cold — 
they were almost ready to give up the Republic as lost— ' 
others were afiaid to vindieate the cause of their wronged 
and bleeding, country. 

BtJ'f were if not to exhibit some of the accumulated 
embarrassments of the Govf^rnment and of the nation, 
and to raii->c your gratituc/ '"o that Almighty Beiniv 
whose arm has again sustained the righteous cause, and a- 
inid surrounding foes and threatening dangers on every 
side, has given us once more to rejoice in the salvation of 
Our cdunfrjr and the auspicious return of peace. Were it 
not for these considerations, I would gladly draw a veil o- 
ver the features of that distorted era, and seal my lips in 
perpetual silence on the subject. Man, I knovv, is the 
(Creature of prejudice, and his habits are too much derived. 
from local circumstances and accidentaT causes— this, no 
doubt, is' the case with many of our welf- meaning, thougli 
misguided fellow-citizens. But, that hberty is an ideal 
tiling, and that patriotism may be always cured by the 
honors and emoluments of offices and distinctions, is a 
dogma which the feelings (5f all honest men ought to regret. 

That war is a public calarriity, n6nc will deny. — - 
The real philanthropist must ever deplore the dire necessi- 
ty which compels man to lift tlic sword against his ftllcvv- 
tnVin ; but in the present state of the v.orld, war, thoueh 
sn evil, is sometimes to be expected, and is sometimes 
necessary for the prevention of evils of longer duration^ 
That this war has been distressing m many places, is un- 
doubtedly true ; but that those states which have felt itr* 
distresses the least have complained the r/iost, is as true. 
That there were miscalculations and mismanagements in tl le 
former Secretary nt War, is what ! i>e\er clis];)uted — i)Ui 
that the success of the general progress aiid closing events 
of the war have far exceeded my expectations, from rriuclx 
feUcction on the subject, I declare it to- be my sinceie o- 
pinion. . 

As a sirbject of the U. States and a citicien of Mas- 
sacluLsetts, I have felt to lament the degeneracy of tht't: 
once patriotic and honorable stale ; like a traveller conten; - 
plating the ruins of Egypt or Palmyra, I have st;.fii!-f.< 
broken columns of political mr-gninceuce — the shuiicieii 



pyrsmids of human cnterprizc—^the once-proud monu^ 
rnents of Republican glory, nodding from their lofty sum- 
mits or prostrate in the dust ! not from the mutilations of 
time, but from the vandal assaults of faction. There the 
cradle of patriotism has become its grave ! — there, with 
some honorable exceptions, we have seen the spirit of tlie 
devolution slumbering in the tombs of our ancestors or 
yawning in tlie streets of her capital — -or we have witnes- 
sed its transmigrated energies pleading in her legislative 
halls fur the riAts of Britain ! There the Genius of Jn. 
dependence has sighed its murmurs to the loiiely winds ! 
its vv-alis have been thrown down, and its altars polluted by 
British priests and British spies, or deserted by an alm.ost 
total apathy of national reeling and an abandonment and 
conten\pt of the Coaititution and of our Republican insti-' 
totions. At the very time oar government was charged 
with French inHuence, the walls of her state-house res6un» 
ded with the hig'n praises of old England. British justice, 
Briiish mn.gnanimity and British religion were the general 
cnlogios bestowed upon the enemies of our country. — 
While the ark of the nation vras floating on the blood of 
the brave citizens of New-Yqrk, Ohio, Kentucky and 
Vermont, with many of her own patriotic bands from her 
eastern borders, we beheld the Assembly of Massachu- 
setts, amidst their othcj- preposterous acts, resolving that it 
■cas unbecoming a moral and religious people to rejoice at 
the victories o!.)tained over our enemies, while it vvas made 
the discharge of a religious obligation to rejoice in the de- 
'str-icticn of tlic enemies of England, when thousands of 
Napoleon's troops were starved or frozen to death in the 
icy climes of Russia. But this altered the case, for such 
victories they could give public thanks to the Almigluy ! 
it was the cause of England that would be benefitted, it 
1>-as'not the cause of our own counliy ! 

I K A v E here spoken of M a s s a c h u s e t t s more par= 
ticuiariy, because she has done wliat Henry, licr British 
prophet and spy foretold that F.he would do— she has giv- 
en the tone to the New- England Statei;— she has taken the 
V\\d againbt the Goveriiment of the United States — she 
};as thrown all the weight she could into the scale of the 
cr.fmv. But I have only to notice the last act of her po-- 
liticaldcpravitv. At the time ^\ hen the Government of 
Great Bvitain made her high toned demands of the UniterJ 



5>t\tcs as the price of an ignominious peace — at that mo' 
mcntous crisis, wlien men of all parties spurned the de- 
grading ternis, and New-England seemed almost ready to 
shake off the night-mare of her political infatuation — - 
\vhen the indignant fire of patriotism, began to kindle thro^ 
the land, and national feeling was rallying round the stan- 
dard of union — then, in that unpropitious day to the drown- 
ing hopes of faction, the disgraceful project of the Hart- 
ford Convention was first juggled into existence. — - 
The three-headed monster was born in Boston, but to 
Hartford was reserved the honor of its first ludicrous 
exhibition ! After the public mind had been so long float- 
ing on the dark ocean of conjecture, and the eyes of the 
nation were impatiently looking forward to catch a glimpse 
at the unknown phenomenon, as men once gazed at com- 
<^ts and eclipses, before they knew whether to look upon 
them as ill-boding appearances, or harmless visitants— af- 
ter religious meetings had been held in various parts of 
New-England, and public prayers had been put up to 
Heaven for success in what some believed a pious under- 
taking I the Delegates themselves began the business, by 
a solemn show of Fasting and Prayer ! It is a mortify- 
ing reflection, to think any person of common understan- 
ding, could believe those men sincere in their religious de- 
votions. I may incut the censure of some, for this plain- 
ness ; but I think the rule of judgment is plain— the gos- 
pel teaches us that we shall know them by their fruits — ^. 
*' men do not gather grapes of thorns nor figs of thistles ;" 
and however masked their designs may be, the veil is oft* 
en so thin, that those who dare look may easily see what it 
•Covers. Had the meeting of that Convention b'&eii for the 
purpose of adopting measures for the real good of theif 
countrv, at such a time of national dans^er and distress — > 
to have depfecated the judgments of the Almighty, and 
implored him to save otir bleeding land from foreign and 
domestic foes, and restore to us again the blessings of 
jDcace, union and prosperity— had such been the object of 
their Fast, their actions, no doubt, would have been ap- 
probated by Heaven, and the vvhole christian world might 
h.ave fellowshipped their devotion, 

O ! SACRED and divine Christianity ! source of everj^ 
blessing and light of everlasting life, given to guide man- 
Hnd through the journey of time and lead them to the 



10 

Ibuntain of eternal love ! given to shev/ men the rfecp de- 
pravity of their own hearts, and make them honest in their 
actions to God and their fellow creatures. System of un- 
shaken truth ! how often art thou perverted to serve the 
the ambitious purposes of designing men ! how often are 
thine altars profaned to gloss over the dark projects of fac- 
tion or to give a solemn sanction to the vilest abominations? 
of Kings and their authorized agents ! Men are not at all 
times what they pretend to be. " Louis the XI, of France, 
who, as Dr. Russel observes, lived in open violation of the 
principles of moiiiiky, and whose life was a jumble of 
crimes and contradictions, was the first who assumed and 
received the title of Most Christian Majesty ! — 
And Suwarrow, styled the Great Christian General ot her 
Christian Majesty the Empress of Russia, before he en- 
tered Warsaw, it is said he devoted a day to flisting and 
prayer I and when he returned from finishing the horrid 
work in the dismemberment of ill-fated Poland, he kept a 
day of Thanksgiving, and in the temples of the Most 
Higli God ordered the 7e Deum to be sung on the occa- 
sion ! Such monstrous pictures of hypocrisy hav€ often 
glared on the pages of history, and ii is enough to con-' 
vince ui. that all is not Christianity which bears that sacred 
3iame ; " for what is highly esteemed among men is often 
an abontination in the sight of God." If such things are 
abhorrent to the feelings of all virtuous and benevolent 
minds— to the eyes of infinite purity, to him who searches 
all hearts and sees through all the disguises of men, such 
solemn mockeries must be the height of moral depravityo 

As to the Hartford Convention there were many men 
of intelligence of Federal politics who were opposed to it. 
Some within the circle of my acquaintance, I speak it to- 
their lionor, have spoken of it in high terms of disappro- 
bation, for they viewed it in the same light which all can- 
did and enlightened men must view it. Its doings thus 
far have been made public and its objects are generally 
known. It has past by like the idle winds and it is gen- 
erally belie\ed will remam with the things xvhichiver'e, af- 
ter leaving some thousand dollars for the states concerned 
to pay, for the expence of their sitting, iind the ridiculous 
misuion to Washington. 

Had it net been for the merciful interposition of 
Heaven in our behalf, instead of being privileged to as- 



li 

seirtbUt here to-day on this joyfully religious occasion, vvc 
might have been sitting in sackloth lamenting the dire ef- 
fects of a dismembered union — we might have been flying 
to extinguish the flames of civil discord — or while the 
plains of New- England were smoking with the blood of 
her bravest sons, we might have been compelled to bow to 
the dictates of a British army, while its licentious soldiery 
were committing those outrages and abominations which 
their brutal countersign promised them at Orleans. But 
thanks be to -God, who in the midst of judgment has re- 
membered mercy, for with a high hand and an outstretch- 
ed arm hath he put down our enemies, and given us to re- 
joice in the salvation of our dearest rights and liberties. — 
The tempest of opposition has raged, but it has spent its 
menacing fury — the east wind has blown, but the fruits of 
the Revolution have not been blasted ! The tree of lib- ' 
crty was planted too deep to be blown down by the whirl- 
winds of faction — -Americans have been sheltered under 
its branches — they have long been regaled by its delicious 
fruits — it will re-blossom on its native soil-— it Avill bring 
forth its fruits in season, for their wisdom and valor will 
defend it from the assaults of foreign and domestic ene- 
mies. In this war we have seen their national character 
supported by the most brilliant displays of liercism ! In 
•the north, the victories on the Lakes, with those of Chip- 
pev/a, Erie, Bridgewater, York and Plattsburgh, have 
shed an imperishable lustre on the arms of the Republic, 
and wreathed with unfading laurels the brows of her de- 
fenders — they have hmnbled the ^iaughty spirit of our en~ 
cmies and convinced the world that America unpractised 
in the trade of war — without allies and late witliout arn^.ies 
or ofii&ers to command them, has been aiid still is able to 
assert and defend her native rights against the most ]iO\vev^ 
ful nation in Europe. On tlie Ocean the trident seems to 
have departed from the once-proud mistress of the waves ! 
There the strong arm of Jehovah has maintained the right- 
fous cause— there the long-sleeping vegeance of insulted. 
Americans has vanquished their astonished foes,_ an^ 
:,-tamped on their distiiiguished flag the broad seal of inde- 
.pendence, which has retrieved their sufiering character and 
commanded the respect of all nations, and will probably 
supercede the necessitv of any other pledge for the future 
conduct of our enemies. Should Engh\nd, however, mad 
ly VAolatp her ftulh anvl hazard another cojitest, which frcjii 



12 

/he lesson she has already been taught, and from thr a^-^ 
pect of affairs in Europe, I think is not likely to take place 
very soon, we shall be far better prepared to meet such an 
emergency than we could possibly have been at the com- 
mencement of this war. 

But amid the blaze of military fame which lias shone 
with so bright a lustre on the American arms, though the 
defeat of the British at Baltiniore was an important dis- 
play of patriotic bravery, the battle of New-Orleans, 
whether we consider it as a demonstration of the most 
consummate skill and heroism, or behold it hi a more reli- 
gious light as a remarkable interposition of Divine Good- 
ness, it knows np parallel in the history of modern ages. 
For one I must ackno^vledge that w|ipn I read the official 
account of that victor}^ when I found the vaunting con- 
querors of Europe defeated in one instance, if npt more, by 
one third their number of undisciplined piilitia, when I 
considered the vast disparity of loss on the American sid^-, 
I could not restrain my emotions of gratitude, I could not 
help believing that God was on our side ! Well might 
the illustrious Jackson exclaim, " Wonderful interposi- 
tion of Heaven ! unexampled event in the history o[ war ! 
let us be grateful to the God of battles, who has directed 
the arrows of indignation against our invaders, while He 
covered with His protecting shield the brave defenders qf 
pur country.'; 

Wh a t an implpasing contrast here recurs to my rec- 
ollection, while the government of Massachusetts had en- 
forced the principle of non-resistance and a small body of 
British troops had been suffered to take quiet possession of 
a considerable portion of the District of Maine, and all at- 
tempts to repel the invaders had been directly or indirectly 
opposed; vvqth feelings of proud admiration we have be- 
held the brave mhabitants of the South and West rallviuir 
to the standard of their country ; many of them \\'erc 
found braving all obstacles on the long extended march, 
some of five hundred and some of more than a thousand 
Tniles. To m?et the invaders of their country— to guard 
that Thermopylae pass, that key to the western world, 
they flew to arms, and they gloriously achieved the object 
of their enterprise- 7'hcir descendants will rejoice in the 
deeds of their fathers ; and their children's ciiildren will 
listen to the patriotic scnu-s whicii bhiill celebrate theit" 



13 

fame ! while the unprejudiced pen of ti.e historian will ex, 
hibit the contrasted character of the East, and point fu- 
ture generations to the place where rhe Laurels of the Rev- 
olution have been left to wither on the soil which first pro- 
duced then:i. But, I repress my feeiings — the war has 
now closed, and it is to be hoped that the rage of oppo:>i- 
tion will pass away like the dying murmurs of a retreating 
fiU)rm, which ha=; blown over without doing the injury that 
was expected. I say such a state of things is to be wish- 
ed ; but from present appearances and past circumstances, 
if the opposing spirit is not still heard to howl in the hol- 
low v/inds of faction, I shall be much mistaken ; but its 
rage will be more harmless. 

But we are alreadv told that we have obtained a 
peace without obtaining the objects we contended for ; 
and consequently the peace is not honorable on our side. 
I would Here observe, that the honorable or dishonorable 
terms of a peace are best knovvn by the opinion of a third 
party, who are wholly disinterested iu the business. \Vc 
find the European nations asserting, that ^' it is a Peace 
highly honorable to the United States"^ — we find the Kng- 
liih themselves declaring, that " the peace with America 
is a peace of necessity — that making it at that m.onient bcr 
trayed, on the part of Britain, a deadlincas to the feelings 
of honor, and a timidity of disposition, ar.d that they had 
been compelled rather to kiss the rod than retaliate its ex- 
ercises." Again the same Editor observes, " that the 
British government have attempted to force their princi- 
ples upon America, and have failed, and that they have 
i-etired from the contest with the stripes yet bleeding on 
their backs." Let it be observed, that this language is 
pot from the opposition side, but from a high-toned gov- 
ernment paper, published in London. I cannot well con- 
ceive how the English could have expressed any thins; 
■more flattering to the pride, or more lipr^orable to the char- 
acter of Americans. The treaty of pe:^ce is founded on 
reciprocal terms — thai a commercial treaty will fqilow 
hereafter, ^\e have good reasons to believe. The orderi 
m council had been repealed, though unknown to our gov-- 
crnment at the commencement of the war. The peace in 
Europe had prevented the causes of impressment. On 
(he news of hostilities existing between the tv.<3 nations, 
?♦! the iuipressed Americans who could gave thcniseiveti 



14 

«p as prisoners of war. By the third article of the treaty, 
*' all prisoners of war taken on either side, as well by land 
as by sea, are to be restored." — " The doctrine that the 
<;haracter of the mariner is derived from the flag has been 
decided by her great civilian, Sir William Scott, and 
conseqaendy acknowledged by England herself, however 
she has former!}^ violated the principle." Respecting the 
fisheries, our drying fish on the shores of the Labradore 
was never considered as any thing more than a matter of 
mere courtesy, and it is a well known fact, that but few 
Americans ever went to that place to dry their fish — they 
considered it then as t^ey do now, a matter of no essential 
consequence. " As to the Calcutta trade, that was with- 
held from us before the war ; we have certainly, then, not 
lost it by the war." 

" That England has been forced to depart from her 
first arrogant demands" I think will not be disputed ; and 
that she has acceded to the terms our government was wil- 
ling to establish is likewise true- — and that the nation has 
not betrayed its interests, nor the government its trust, all 
candid and unprejudiced men will and must acknowledge. 
Surely while the character of the President ranks so high, 
in the opiiijon of other nations, he is well deserving the 
confidence of his countrymen. He has not abandoned 
our rights, he has saved, and honorably supported them. 
If any man can believe that he entered into this war to en- 
sure his election, I do not feel disposed to denounce him, 
but I pity the weakness of his understanding. He could 
iiot have acted so inconsistent a part — he could not have 
hazarded his own honor and popularity in a matter of so 
doubtful an issue and of so much importance to his coun- 
jtry, for such an object, when he was under no necessity 
iov such an alternative. 

There was a time during the period of this war 
wheri a dark cloud overspread our land, it seemed the aw- 
ful presage of ap^^roaching ruin ! our country divided and 
threatened with the tremendous vengeance of a civil war — ■ 
the national counsels distracted by opposite feelings — our 
enemies, with augmented forces on every side, spreading 
iheir vandal war along the shores of the Chesapeake and 
other places — plundering private ])roperly — j)illaging and 
burain^g defenceless villages— 'insuUing the living and ri: 



is 

fling even' the mansions of the dead ! while exulting in the 
proffered reward of their disgraceful leaders, in th«5 tears 
and shrieks of female innocence ! — Great God ! are there 
Americans to be found who have advocated their cause, 
who have palliated their crimes ? — Tell it not to our des- 
cendants ! p-ublish it not to the ears of a reproaching world ! 
In that alarming period, when tlie ashes of the public ed- 
jfices were smoking in the streets of the Capital, and the 
taunting shouts of a degraded faction responded to the 
vain-vaporing triumphs of Britain, and even apphauded a 
deed which an uninterested world condemned I-^When 
the genius of America sat mourning in solitude, and Lib- 
erty stood weeping over her bleeding altars ! many of the 
friends of their country were almost ready to despair of 
the republic — but Heaven did not abandon our cause — the 
brave defenders of their country's rights stood forth, re- 
solved to conquer or to mingle their last blood with her 
expiring liberties ! A gay beam of hope soon began t& 
brighten through the gloom ! Victory on victory by sea 
and land, the most brilliant and important, gave new en- 
ergy to the government, and animation to the friends of 
their country ; and at the moment of the greatest public 
ti'iumph, when the mantle of Washington had descen- 
ded on the illustrious JACKSoi^r, we received the joyful ti- 
dings of Peace, and it was ratified by President Madi- 
son ! Does this prove that he did not wish for Peace,- or 
that EuQ-land would not make Peace during: his adniiniS" 
traticn ? Or has this war proved that the peoj)!e are their 
own worst enemies ? Has it proved that those State Gov- 
ernments which have opposed the war so much, have been- 
most saving of die people's money ? — I think not. It 
has^ proved that Americans have discomfited their enemies 
on every side ; that their well-tried valor has gained an ex- 
alted name for their country ; and they Vv^ill assuredly reap 
';he honor they deserve from all nations. But while wc 
feel an honest pride in the martial fame of ou? country-' 
men, there is one noble trait in their character, wliich de- 
serves to be inscribed on walls of brass and pillars of mar- 
ble — I mean their humanity. It has equaled their cour- 
age — it has shone conspicuous over Britisli dishonor :'.mf 
erucky — it has descended in showers of blessings on their 
prisoners— =-it has spread the broad mantle of mercy, to* 
comfort and relieve their fallen enemies ! •»\ hose contrast- 
ed deeds will be a lasting reproach to the Kriti.sli cliaraclcr- 



16 

T"E ^Anicjicans h&ve captr.red, during this war, more than fifv 
teen i)U!icIrcd oi" the enemy's merchant ships, besides three frigates 
atid two whole squadrons on the Lakes, with inany other vessels of 
war — while tiic capnsres of the enemy have been but few in compar- 
ison. Tlicy have already liberated Irom thf prison ships in one sin- 
jifle port in Enc^Iand, more tha7i tiuo ihounand im/iresn' d Jmcrica7i>i ! 
Let no man despair of the Republic ; this war has given ii more sta- 
bility and strength than a thirty year's peace couid have don- in the 
situation il wab in !:cfore it commenced. It is tiic world's (ibt Itope 
of liberty ! the fast anchored land of a. nation's, rights I.Itbas stood 
tlie test — it has been tried as by hre ! Like a rock in tlic Oc<-an, it^ 
has braved tl)C dasliing of the nations and the bowlings of tiic angry 
•itorm I But Hf. who once spake to the raging seas, has commar.JuJ 
PEACE, and the billows of war and the winds of faction nave obey- 
cci Iii:>! i The clouds which spread over our land are dispersed — ; 
thedaikness has kindled iiito day, and the tempest of v.ar has sub- 
sided into the delightful calms of peace. We have now a Aiir pros- 
pect before us of a Nourishing and happy era— our trade will again 
revise — our saHs are already s\vel!ing to the winds of every sea — 
they will bear the rich products of our country abroad-— ^they will re- 
turn every article \vc shall need-^our flag will commaiul re: pect> 
9v\^\. the brave character of our seamen will be their best protection — - 
while the arts at home will revive, and our manufactures flourisli 
and increase. With such prospects beforu us, who docs not exult in 
the beams of peace ; who does not rejoice that tho mountains of 
freedom have appeared in this western world ? that the dove with 
the olive has returned to its native ark ! Who does not feel an hot)- 
est pride that he is an American ? And who, let rne ask, does ncc 
feel to acknov/led;,-c that the arm of the Almighty has been ou- 
salvation ? that Heaven has hitherto distinguished our land fur lli". 
peculiar displays of its goodness, and for the last abode of persecuted 
liberty ! And, though after so long a season of peace, we have a~ 
s^ain'been suffered to feel the common calamities of war, let us re- 
r.icmber, that as a nation, we liavc often deserved the judgments of 
tlie AlmigiUy. While otiter nations were suffering the complicated 
distresses of war and fannne, and Europe seemed a slaughter-!. onse 
fu'.' ti>e destruction of munkind, we, blest with peace and sunouuded 
M'iih plenty, what was our sense of gratitude ? We murmured ?.t 
tho gi;fts cf pescc — wc complained because we were too fuli-fed — 
•tvc found fiiult 'with our rulers without any just grounds — we regret- 
ted the blcssiiig of liberty — wc cuiogi^.ed tyrants — -and many sulfer- 
€U thtir avarice to duteat l!^e measures of the best (iovernmcnt on 
earth, aiul were i-cady to saciiTicc tlicir country for the pride of offics 
Cr the last of grjn. Such were our transgrersions ; and we hav3 
iiv.x. the chastis'jmcnts of tiie Almighty in a just and necessary war,' 
L-ct us now r'*ioioe that He has given us no longpr to hear the sound 
Oi the trum;;ct, nor sec the ijarmtnt rolled in blood ! For thiotigh 
Ihc clouiLs ol ills jiuigMnent Lis mercy has beamed v/ith a resplcn- 
clcnt lustre — o'jr country is slaved and our liberties secure-. 

To Hi5i, whose Omnipotrnl arm poises the scale of Empires 
ni'l guh.ics tlie destinies i-S nations — who puts down and builds up at 
Htr> plv:>su;t:~ to His NAr-iK be all the Praise. 






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